Possible project

[foodog]

Craig White wrote:
...
> If I get them to chase down this path - which will be a major
> undertaking since their primary data engine is Filemaker Pro which now
> has an OSX client but the only linux planning is to port their 'Server'
> product to Redhat - supposedly to be shipped in August. They have not
> admitted any interest in a linux client application which is really the
> only problem with switching them over.

Are their Macs PPC-flavored?  Yellow Dog Linux mentions running Mac apps
"at near native speed", that should include FM Pro.  All my hardware is
Intel-like, but my boss is really happy with YDL - he dual-boots.  Or
you might be able to use the Macs as X clients.

> My question is...
> 
> I see a real value to putting the big money into a honker server and
> having like 10 thin clients using xwindows. I am in love with the
> Windows 2000 Terminal Services and think that linux could do it even
> better. Does anyone have any setups like this running? Does this seem
> impractical for 10 clients? Anyone have any insights to offer on this?

I've just started looking into that sort of thing.  I've downloaded but
haven't yet played with the "K12 Linux Terminal Server" project images. 
It's based on RH 7.1 and specifically mentions "about 10 clients" per
server.  They've also got a lot of info on thin clients, including one
that appears to retail for about $200.00.  They boot the terminals via
TFTP.

Take a look at http://www.k12ltsp.org/

You can buy a serious server for a lot less than their Windows licensing
costs -- say, dual PIII 1Ghz, 1GB RAM, dual Intel Pro100, maybe a RAID
adapter.  I was going to suggest "build one", but a warranty is a nice
thing to have for people without support infrastructure.

HTH, Steve